Overview

• Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht face yes-or-no retention votes on Nov. 4, a format in which incumbents rarely lose.
• The DNC says the court’s decisions on voting rules, redistricting and abortion protections raise the stakes, and it is bankrolling field and mail outreach to support retention.
• National groups on both sides are spending, with RSLC and CommonWealth Partners backing rejection efforts and Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness, the DLCC and ACLU chapters supporting retention.
• Democrats accuse a GOP-aligned group of sending misleading mailers about the congressional map, while conservative activist Scott Presler urges voters to reject the justices over past pandemic and mail-in ballot rulings.
• The Pennsylvania Bar Association recommends retaining all three, and if any are rejected Gov. Josh Shapiro can appoint an interim justice subject to Senate confirmation until 2027.